RETRIEVAL SYSTEM FOR THE TRANSFER OF INFORMATION

Abstract: The invention provides an information retrieval system comprising: a) a dedicated single switch (4); b) receiving means (b) responsive to manual actuation of said single switch to receive coded information; c) means for decoding the coded information (3), and; d) means for presenting the decoded information (9) to a user. Thus, by actuation of a single switch, the information, for example advertising information, is received, decoded and presented to the user.

Description: RETRIEVAL SYSTEM FOR THE TRANSFER OF INFORMATION This invention relates to the transfer of information between a supplier and end user, and in particular to the transfer of advertising information from an advertiser to a potential customer of a product or service being advertised. In the communication industry, there are often messages, basic information, and advertising that it is desired to communicate as an offer or other information to a user for example a target audience of the particular media. One of the problems that the industry has is the efficient and effective transfer of that information. For example, on television, the information may take the form of a telephone number, a recipe or advice that a program wishes to pass on to viewers, or the information may take the form of an offer or promotion to encourage purchase of a product. Equally in newspapers the information may also take the form of coupons or promotional information or it may simply be a telephone number to call for an information pack, or opening times of a box office. Hitherto, to effect the transfer of such information, the end user of the information has been required to either write out the information, memorise the information, clip a coupon or write out an address to send off for the information. However, due to the lack of an available writing implement or laziness, this requirement has in reality frequently proved to be a real obstacle to the efficient and effective transfer of the information. This problem is particularly noticeable and infuriating with advertising where the intention of the advertiser is to encourage interest in and ultimately purchase of a product. In an attempt to overcome this problem and to further encourage purchase of a product, advertising schemes have been developed based on additional inducements such as gift coupons in newspapers, prizes, telephone phone ins and quizzes etc. Unfortunately, the take up of such schemes is hindered by the reality that the target audience of to-day's media programming and advertising still need to interact by traditional methods as outlined above. One way around the above problems is to install interactive systems. For example, in the telecommunications field, interactive shopping systems have been developed where actual real time or effectively real time communication takes place between a telecommunications network and the user. However, such systems are complicated and expensive which limits their use. Moreover, the application of such system is restricted to situations where interaction with the user can take place in this way, for example, such systems are not appropriate to newspapers or magazines. There is therefore a need for a way to transfer the aforementioned information in an effective, economical and simple manner. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system wherein information can be transferred between an information supplier and end user in an effective, economical and simple manner. According to the present invention there is provided an information retrieval system comprising:- a) a dedicated single switch; b) receiving means responsive to manual actuation of said single switch to receive coded information; c) means for decoding the coded information; and d) means for presenting the decoded information to a user. Thus, by actuation of a single switch, the information, for example advertising information, is received, decoded and presented to the user. The system may further comprise a store means for storing the received coded information or a store means for storing the decoded coded information. This gives flexibility to the application of the system to currently existing technology. In one embodiment, said store means and integers a) and b) are provided as a portable or hand held unitary device and integers c) and d) are provided in another unit; in another embodiment said store means and integers a) , b) , and c) are provided as a portable or hand held unitary device and integer d) is provided in another unit; and in still another embodiment said information retrieval system is provided as a hand held unitary device. Thus, a user simply carries the device and as required, actuates the single switch to receive the coded information for subsequent presentation. This gives considerable flexibility of use allowing the device to be carried and used when convenient, for example, whilst reading the newspaper, or whilst watching television. Preferably, communication between the device and said another unit is by means of infrared or similar remote communication since this is simple and reliable. The communication between the device and said another unit may also be by means of connection between a reciprocal plug and socket means of the device and said another unit. In one embodiment, the receiving means comprises a transmitter for emitting infrared light for scanning coded information, a receiver for receiving scanning infrared light reflected from the coded information, and code extracting mean for extracting the coded information from the received scanning infrared light. Once again, this is simple and reliable. In a particular case, said transmitter can be actuable to provide the communication between the device and said another unit. The system may be used for television and further comprises information extracting means for extracting said coded information from an incoming television signal and for displaying the extracted coded information on a television screen. In this way, the coded information need not actually be normally be seen by a viewer for very long because this serves to provide coded information which can be scanned by using the hand held unitary device. Conveniently, the information extracting means can be part of said another unit. In another case, the information extracting means is part of said another unit and includes further store means for storing additional extracted information for correlation with a code of the information communicated from said unitary device. Consequently, information additional to that present on the screen can be obtained from the television signal. Conveniently, the means for presenting the decoded information maybe actuated by operation of the single switch or is actuated by operation of a further dedicated single switch. Therefore, the received information can be maintained in the system until it is a convenient time to present the decoded information for consultation. It is preferred that the means for presenting the decoded information comprises a printer since hard copy can be passed on. Alternatively, the means for presenting the decoded information can comprise a printer and/or a display. For the sake of simplicity, said single switch can comprise the only switch on said unitary device. It is preferred that said means for decoding the stored information comprises a bar code decoding means. Alternatively the switch and technology is incorporated into another remote control device such as a television or VCR remote control. Examples of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention for television. The present invention in its most simple form is shown in Figure 1. A hand held device 10 for capturing information from a supplier and presenting the information to an end user comprises an infrared transmitter 1 connected via a drive circuit 2 to a microprocessor 3. A manually pressable switch 4, located centrally on a shell of the device 10, is connected by a line 5 to the microprocessor 3 so that when the switch 4 is pressed, the microprocessor actuates the drive circuit 2 to cause the transmitter to transmit scanning infrared light. Reflected infrared light from the transmitter 1 is received in a receiver 6 and processed by the microprocessor 3 and stored in a random access memory (RAM) 7. When a further manually pressable switch 8, connected to the microprocessor 3, is pressed, the stored contents of the RAM 7 are read out to a display means or means for producing hard copy such as a printer drive unit 9 so that the information can be printed out on paper 11. The use of the device 10 will now be described with reference to an advert in a newspaper advertisement. For the purpose of illustration, the information from the supplier in the advert is presented in a bar code form, although other forms of presentation can be employed. Thus, it will be apparent that the advert includes not only humanly readable information, but the coded information for reading by the device 10. The manner of reading and decoding the information content of bar codes is already well known and will not be described in detail here. To use the device 10, a user seeing the information of interest in a newspaper advertisement, say an advert giving a box office telephone number, points the transmitter 1 at the bar code and presses the button 4. The microprocessor illuminates the transmitter 1 view the drive circuit 2 so that the bar code on the advert is scanned with infrared light in known manner. The reflected light is picked up by the receiver 6, processed by the microprocessor 3 to extract the bar code, as is known in the art, and is decoded and stored in the RAM 7. The retrieved information can be immediately produced by pressing the button 8 to produce a hard copy. Thus, there is no need for the user to write out a telephone number, cut the advert out of the newspaper, or memorise the number. Consequently, the information contained in the advert is more accessible and the effectiveness of the transfer of the information to the end user is improved. Alternatively, the user may keep the information until required, for example to telephone the box office. Only at this time is the button 8 pressed to print out, or display, the telephone number. It will be apparent that the button 8 can be omitted if the display means or printer unit 9 is activated when the button 4 is pressed so that the retrieved information is simply decoded and sent straight to the printer drive unit without storing. The button 4 can also be arranged to operate on one press for store, two presses for print or some other combination of controlling the device on the basis of the single button 4. The device of Figure 1 can be employed to retrieve coded information that is presented in various media, for example in newspapers, magazines, and television. Thus, when the user is interested in something, a single press of the button 4 captures the information so that the user can immediately act on the information that is being presented. This overcomes the laziness problems mentioned above. Whilst Figure 1 illustrates the system of the present invention contained in a single hand held device, the present invention is not restricted to this. For example, having the printer drive, or display, unit in the device 10 is not essential. Figure 2 illustrates an alternative device embodying the present invention where components common to Figure 1 bear common reference numerals. A device 10A is operated as with Figure 1 to capture the information. The device is then pointed at or actuates another unit 12, which may be a dedicated unit, which contains a printer drive unit 9. On pressing of the button 8, the information stored in the RAM 7 is retrieved and transmitted from the transmitter 1 to a receiver 13 on the unit 12. A receiver circuit 14 processes the received signal into appropriate form before supplying it to the printer unit 9. Whilst a communication route via the transmitter 1 and the receiver 13 is illustrated in Figure 2, a communication route between a reciprocal plug and socket on the device 10 and the unit 12 can be used. It will be apparent that the information stored in the RAM 7 can take the form of the coded information or the information in decoded form. Accordingly, the means for decoding the coded information can be provided within the device 10 as with Figure 1 or can be provided as part of the receiver circuit 14 in the unit 12. The device 10 or 10A can include a display (not shown) for displaying the stored information and more than one information can be captured and stored in the RAM 7. It will also be apparent that a suitable power supply, such as a battery, is provided for the device 10 and 10A. As mentioned above, the coded information to be captured can take many forms. For example, the coded information in the form of a bar code could be incorporated as part of a television picture signal, either as a section on the lower part of a television screen or as a subliminal display imbedded in the incoming television signal. In this case, when a user of the device 10 to 10A is interested in the content of the television screen, the button 4 can be pressed so that the transmitter 1 is actuated to scan the screen and capture the information on the lower part of the screen or the coded subliminal information. Then, when the button 8 is pressed, the information of interest is retrieved and printed by the printer unit 9, or stored for display. Another embodiment of the present invention particularly suitable for television is shown in Figure 3. In this case, coded information and additional information is received via the broadcast network. A special unit 30 is connected in line between a television 31 and aerial 32. The cable from the aerial 32 is connected to an input 36 of the unit 30 whereby the incoming televisional signals are fed directly to an output 37 for connection to the television 31 and to a splitter 33 which splits off the additional information from the incoming television signal. The additional information can be contained in the extra transmitted lines which are not normally displayed on the television screen and the manner in which this information is split off is already known and will not be described. The additional information is temporarily written into a RAM 34 at an address under the control of a microprocessor 35, the address bearing a direct relation to the incoming coded information. The embodiment of Figure 3 operates as follows. When a user watching the television with the device of say Figure 2 sees something of interest on the television, the button 4 can be actuated. At this point in time, imbedded in the incoming television screen, there can be a bar code screen which is flashed, for instance for 1/60 second every second or alternatively, a bottom portion of the screen can be dedicated to the bar code at this point in time by the broadcast network. Consequently, the bar code is stored by activation of the button 4. Then, the user points the device 10A at the unit 32 and presses the button 8 so that the unit 32 receives the coded information in the form of the bar code via a receiver 38 connected to the microprocessor 35. According to the bar code received, the microprocessor retrieves from the appropriate addresses of RAM 34 the additional information associated with that bar code and sends it to a printer drive unit 39 for printing, or other unit for storage and display. In an alternative the actuation of button 4 allows digital information representative of the bar code to be stored for a limited time, and then to be automatically printed out, or displayed on the screen. For example, if a particular car was advertised during the advertisement, the additional information could be split off by the splitter 33 and temporarily stored at a predetermined address in the RAM 34. If the viewer showed interest, they store the associated bar code displayed as above. Then, by communicating this bar code to the unit 30, additional information about the car can be retrieved, such as the full specification. Alternatively a telephone number can be called when it is conventional to obtain an information pack by post. It will be apparent that the unit 30 can comprise a part of the television. It will be apparent that the information that can be decoded from the coded information is limited to the amount of information that can be contained in the code and the length of the code. For bar codes, the amount of information is not great. By use of the embodiment of Figure 3, much greater amounts of information can be effectively captured although it will be apparent that the RAM 34 would be overwritten, say, every time an advertising break occurred. The present invention is distinguished from the prior art in that it provides a simple and economical device wherein a user simply captures coded information for subsequent display or print, the capture taking place on the basis of a user deciding "yes" to want the information or "no" not to bother to obtain the information. There is no true interaction as such with the information as with the prior art, but a rather simple snap shot capturing and reproduction of a burst of information. Thus, in one case, an owner of the system of the present invention viewing an advert of interest can simply point the device at the television and activate the button 4 to capture the coded information from the screen and press the button 8 to print the decoded information. In another case, the owner reading an advertisement in a newspaper containing a telephone response number, a money-off coupon or detailed information, can scan the coded information and then at a convenient time, say at home, the decoded information can be printed or displayed ready for consultation and use. Consequently, the present invention provides simplicity of transfer of information from a supplier to the user in that there is no need for the user to take any action other than simply press a button to capture information for retrieval and use at leisure. It will be apparent that the invention can take many forms and whilst the coded information is preferably in the form of bar codes, other forms of condensing data for transmission could be employed, including audible transmission for use with radio. In addition, the present invention can comprise a separate system or can be incorporated as part of a device having further features, such as an electronic personal organiser, or television or VCR remote control.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An information retrieval system comprising:- a) a dedicated single switch; b) receiving means responsive to manual actuation of said single switch to receive coded information; c) means for decoding the coded information; and d) means for presenting the decoded information to a user. 2. A system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a store means for storing the received coded information. 3. A system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising store means for storing the decoded coded information. 4. A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein said store means and integers a) and b) are provided as a portable or hand held unitary device and integers c) and d) are provided in another unit. 5. A system as claimed in claim 3 wherein said store means and integers a) , b) , and c) are provided as a portable or hand held unitary device and integer d) is provided in another unit. 6. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said information retrieval system is provided as a hand held unitary device. 7. A system as claimed in claim 4 or 5 wherein communication between the device and said another unit is by means of infrared communication. 8. A system as claimed in claim 4 or 5 wherein communication between the device and said another unit is by means of connection between a reciprocal plug and a socket. 9. A system as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 8 wherein the receiving means comprises a transmitter for emitting infrared light for scanning coded information, a receiver for receiving scanning infrared light reflected from the coded information, and code extracting means for extracting the coded information from the received scanning infrared light. 10. A system as claimed in claim 7 and 9 wherein said transmitter is actuable to provide said communication between the device and said another unit. 11. A system as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10 for television and further comprising information extracting means for extracting said coded information from an incoming television signal and for displaying the extracted coded information on a television screen. 12. A system as claimed in claim 1 and dependent on claim 4 or 5 wherein said information extracting means is part of said another unit. 13. A system as claimed in claim 10 and 11 as dependent on claim 4 or 5 wherein said information extracting means is part of said another unit and includes further store means for storing additional extracted information for correlation with a code of the information communicated from said unitary device. 14. A system as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 13 wherein the means for presenting the decoded information is actuated by a further operation of the single switch. 15. A system as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 13 wherein the means for presenting the decoded information is actuated by operation of a further dedicated single switch. 16. A system as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 15 wherein the means for presenting the decoded information comprises a printer. 17. A system as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 16 wherein the means for presenting the decoded information comprises a printer and/or a display. 18. A system as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 17 wherein said single switch comprises the only switch on said unitary device. 19. A system as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 18 wherein said means for decoding the stored information comprises a bar code decoding means.

Inventors: GREENE STEVEN BRADFORD, MURPHY PETER EDWARD PAUL, GREENE, STEVEN, BRADFORD, MURPHY, PETER, EDWARD, PAUL
Applicants: GREENE STEVEN BRADFORD, MURPHY PETER EDWARD PAUL, GREENE, STEVEN, BRADFORD, MURPHY, PETER, EDWARD, PAUL
Application year: 1994
Main classification: G06K17
IPC codes: G06K7, G06K17, H04N1